Best of

the Twin Cities

Best Music Controversy

Pro-consent reimaging of 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' goes viral

Ever realize how rape-y “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” sounds? Twentysomething Twin Cities singer-songwriters Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski did, so they went ahead and reimagined the Christmas classic with a pro-consent spin. “You never figure out if she gets to go home,” Liza told CNN of the character from the 1944 holiday standard. “You never figure out if there was something in her drink. It just leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth.” Solution: She rewrote lines like “I oughtta say no, no, no sir (You mind if I move in closer)” into ones like “I ought to say no, no, no (you reserve the right to say no).” The track went crazy viral, with outlets like NPR, Huffington Post, and TIME writing it up, though the “less sexually aggressive” remix spurred some backlash. “This is the musical version of going into an art museum and spray painting all the nudes,” reads one YouTube comment, while other online detractors promoted a more innocent reading of the original. So much for peace, love, and joy.